“Dad?” I muttered. “Dad, is that you?” I was having trouble seeing because of a very bright light behind him.

“It’s not your turn yet, Jack,” he said. “Go back.”

“I can’t it hurts too much. Can’t I stay here with you?”

“It’s not your time,” he said and started to fade away. Suddenly I was in a room with Lexy.

“Lexy?” I asked. “What’s going on?” Suddenly I saw that she was crying. “What’s wrong?”

“Come back to me Jack. I need you here with me,” she said. She came closer to me, and kissed me. I looked down, and saw my hospital room. Ma was crying, and the nurses were trying to keep Lexy and Katie out of the room. Lexy got away from them, and started to cry as she came up to me. I saw her say something, but I couldn’t hear her. She leaned over and kissed me, and then moved out of the way of the doctors.

When I looked up again, it was Katie in front of me. “Why did you jump in front of me? It should have been me!” she said, and burst into tears. I looked down again, and Katie was standing at the end of the bed crying. She wasn’t saying anything, but it was as if I could hear her thoughts. I kept watching as Lexy walked over to Katie. She put her arms around her, and they cried together as they walked out to go back to the waiting room.

Suddenly, Todd was in front of me. “I should have been there. I should have been able to help,” he said. “We already lost Dad, we can’t lose you too!!” I realized that Ma must have called him to tell him what happened.

When I looked down, I suddenly wasn’t looking into the hospital room anymore. I saw Todd packing a bag. “He must be coming home,” I thought. Suddenly someone came in, and handed him a phone. He listened for a moment, and then fell to the floor in tears. He stayed like that for a moment, and then stood up, wiped his eyes, and continued packing.

I looked back up, and Todd was still there. “No, it’s not your fault!!” I tried to tell him, but it was as if he couldn’t hear me. He slowly started to fade, but I went toward him. “Listen to me!!” I said. Suddenly, it was as if he was listening to me. “It’s not your fault!!” I said, and then Dad was back in front of me.

“You can’t leave them yet. It’s not your time. They still need you. Look,” he said, and I saw everyone, including Ma looking at me, with tears in their eyes. “They still need you. Go back.”

Suddenly I felt a jolt, and started falling.

“Dad, help me!” I yelled, but he was gone. The words “they still need you,” and “go back,” kept echoing as I fell. I screamed, but stopped suddenly when I started to hear the machines again. ‘eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-beep, beep, beep’

Suddenly, Ma gasped. “Jack?” she said.

“Dad?” I opened my eyes, and saw the doctors. Ma walked around them, and came up to me.

“No, sweetie, it’s me.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you again. It’s not my time,” I said. She leaned over and gave me a hug. Lexy and Katie walked back in the room, and they both started to smile.

“You won’t believe what I saw,” I said.

“Later, tell us later,” Ma answered. “You need your rest now.”

“No, it’s important. I saw Dad, and he told me you guys still need me, and that it wasn’t my time to go yet.”

Lexy walked over and kissed me and then said, “I’m glad he did.”